Charles lardner



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Shet 1.

G. LARDNER.

DREDGBR.

No. 429,351. Patented June 3, 1890.

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(No M del.)

LARDNER.

DREDGER.

6' Jul 2 an Z i? d Jea i" 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Patented June 3, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES LARDNER, OF TOPEKA, KANSAS.

DREDGElR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 429,351, dated June 3,1890.

Application filed February 4, 1890. Serial No. 389,131. (No model.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES LARDNER, of Topeka, in the county of Shawneeand State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Dredgers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in dredges or excavators.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved excavating ordredging bucket of the type known as clam-shell, and which shall becheap, simple, and durable in construction, and certain, sure, andautomatic in operation. These objects are accomplished by, and myinvention consists in, certain novel features of construction, and incombinations of parts more fully described hereinafter, and particularlypointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of theexcavatingbucket and its supporting and conveying apparatus, the bucketbeing shown closed. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective showing the bucketopen, one shell of the bucket being partially broken away. Fig. 3 is asection through the two sliding blocks which operate the bucket, showingthe same locked together. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are respectively an endview, a longitudinal section, and a top plan of the carrying-car withthe supporting pulleys removed.

- This bucket is adapted for dredging under water or excavating on land,or wherever the soil or material is soft or sandy and can be readilypicked up by the bucket. The conveyin g and operating constructionillustrated in the drawings consists of an elevated supporting or trackrope or cable a, extending from the spot from which the earth is to beremoved to Wherever the earth is to be deposited or dumped. WVhere theapparatus is to be used as a dredger, a suitable support (not shown) iserected over the portion of the bottom of the body of water to bedredged. The supporting-track is secured at one end shore toward thewater-support.

to this support extending above the water, and at the other end toasupport on the shore, and so that the track is inclined from the Astopblock bis carried by said track-cable over the portion of the bottomto be dredged, and is provided with a projecting barbed or shoulderedarm 0, extending, preferably, parallel with the track.

The excavating-bucket is supported and suspended from the conveying caror carriage cl. This car is supported by hangers e, containing pulleysff, running on the upper surface of the track-cable. lThebody of the carsuspended from the track "is'h ollow and contains a pair of verticalpulleys "g'g. The bucket'supporting and operating cable h extends fromthe position of the operator on the shore or dumping-place, where it isprovided with suitable operating means, to the traveling car, and intothesame between the guidepulleys t' i and over one of said pulleys g,and

down and around a vertical pulley j, carried by the slidingsupporting-block 7c of the bucket, and then up around the other pulley gof the conveying-car, and down again and secured at its end to said mainsliding block In.

The bucket consists of the two similar shells Z Z, preferably sharpenedat their lower and meeting edges and adapted to swing apart, as shown inFig. 2, to open the bucket or swing together, as shown in Fig. 1, andclose the bucket. At the upper sidesof their ends these shells areprovided withthe links m m m m, rigidlysecured to the ends of theshells, and at their outer free ends pivoted to the opposite ends of ahorizontal cross bar or head n, rigidly secured to the lower end of aupper end is provided with abeveled shoulder q. A vertically-swinginglatch-lever 4" extends through the upper open portion of the block, andis pivoted thereto at one end,

while its opposite end extends outwardly therefrom, and is preferablyweighted, as shown at s, to hold the lever in its normal horizontalposition. (Shown in Fig. 3.) This lever is provided with a lug or arm25, extending down into the top of the socket or opening 29, leaving anarrow space between itself and shoulder q. Another block a is confinedto slide longitudinally on said main vertical bar below the main block7tto close and open the shells of the bucket. A pair of crosslinks 1; nare at their lower ends rigidly secured, respectively, to the bottom ofeach shell, and extend upwardly and radially from the same, and theupper end of each link n U is connected with the bucket opening andclosing slide-block by means of the links a a, which, at their oppositeends are pivoted to said block and the upper free ends of said rigidlinks. A pivoted shouldered latch l)" extends up from the block a and isadapted to enter the socket 1), and thereby lock the two slidestogether, as the beveled shoulder of the latch is held on the beveledshoulder g by means of the armt of the latch-lever.

The operation of the device is as follows, viz: Suppose the bucket to befilled and raised and on its way to the dumping-ground, as shown inFig. 1. When the bucket arrives over the dumping-ground, the cord 0',-attached to the free end of the latch-lockin g lever and extendedupbetween the rollers inthe conveyingcar to the operators stand, ispulled, thereby raising such lever and disengaging its lockingarm t fromthe latch, whereupon the latch b will slip from the main slide by reasonof the shoulder q and the downward pull on the shell-closing slidethrough the medium of toggle links e and a, caused by the constanttendency of the shell to swing apart and open, and the shelhclosingslide will move down the main vertical bar and the shells will beautomatically swung apart and dump their load. The toggle-links, whenthe bucket is open, fold down, as shown in Fig.- 2. These links are soarranged that when the block a is drawn up on the bar 0 the secured endsof links '2) will be drawn together, and when said block slides down thesecured ends of said links will separate and the shells open. When thebucket is closed and the shell-clos ing slide is released, the shellwill automatically open, because the means then supporting the shellsare secured to the outer edges of said shells and consist of the chainsd',secured to the outer and upper corners of said shells and to the mainslide-block, and having the cross-chains e secured to the cross-bars nof the shaft or bar 0. These cross-chains limit the parting swing of theshells, while the chains (1 support the shells when open, while thetoggledinks mainly support them when closed. After the load has beendumped the open bucket is started back toward the raises the swingingwing g, thereby allowing 7o the stop it on the supporting and operatingrope to pass the same, Fig. 3, and hence allowing the bucket toautomatically lower as the rope his paid out. \Vhen the bucket strikesthe bottom, the operating-rope continues to pay out, and the main slideof the bucket then drops by gravity onto the shell-closing slide,thereby automatically locking the two slides together by reason of thelatch before mentioned. The bucket is caused to pick up its load bypulling on the raising and operating rope, thereby drawing up the mainslide, and with it the shell elesing slide, and by reason of thepeculiar arrangement of the toggle links the shells are caused to closeto* gether and at the same time pick a full load of sand or earth byreason of the arrangement of the digging-edges. When the loaded bucketis raised to the proper point, the stop h engages the movable tube 2"and draws the same outwardly, thereby raising the springpawl j from theshoulder of arm 0, through the medium of flexible connection It, andreleasing the car cl, so that the car and bucket can be pulled to thedumping-point.

The peculiar conveying apparatus is claimed in an application, SerialNo. 296,472, filed De cember 24,- 1889. This bucket is not limited touse with this peculiar conveying apparatus.

It is evident that certain changes might be 100 made in the form andarrangements of the parts described without departing fronrthe spiritand scope of my invention; hence I do not wish to limit myself to theexact construction herein set forth.

\Vhat I claim is--- 1. The combination of the main upright bar havingthe cross-bar, the clam-shell having rigid arms hinged to saidcross-bar, the main slide and chains extending therefrom 11 to the outeredges of said shells, having crosschains to limit the parting swing ofsaid shells, and the slide to open and close the shells.

2. In a clam-shell bucket, the combination I 5 of the upright bar havinga cross head or'rod on its lower end, the two clam-shells having rigidarms pivoted on said cross-bar, the shell operating toggledinks rigidlysecured to the bottoms of said shells, a slide on said bar, to 12 whichsaid links are pivoted, and a main supporting-slide on said bar providedwith supporting connections to the outer edges of said shells,substantially as described.

In combination, the main upright bar I2 5 having a cross-head on itslower end, the two clam-shells hinged to said cross head, the shelloperating slide on said bar connected with the bottoms of said shells bytogglelinks, the main supporting-slide on said bar 1 0 provided withflexible connections to said shells, and means for locking said slidestogether, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the main upright bar, the "hinged clam-shells, aslide on said bar for operating the shells, the toggle-links pivoted tosaid slide and rigidly secured to and extending radially from thebottoms ofto lock said slides together, and flexiblesupporting-connections from the main slide to the outer edges of saidshells, provided with crossconnections secured to said cross-head,substantially as described.

6. In combination, the main upright bar, the hinged clam-shells, themain supportingslide on said bar, flexible supporting-connections fromsaid slide to theouter edges of the shells, the shell-operating slideconnected to the bottoms of .said shells to close the same, a latchcarried by said slide to engage a shoulder on the main'slide, and alever to release said latch from the shoulder, substantially asdescribed.

7. In combination, the upright bar having a cross-head on its lower end,the two clamshells having rigid arms secured rigidly thereto and pivotedto the ends of said crosshead, the main supporting-slide on said barconnected with the outer edges of said shells by chains, the armsrigidly secured to and extending radially from the bottoms of saidshells, and the shell-operating slide connected with saidradially-extending arms, substantially as described.

8. In combination, the upright bar, the clamshells carried thereby, themain supportingslide suspended from the operating-cable and having abeveled shoulder, the shell-operating slide having an upwardly-extendingpivoted latch to engage said shoulder and 'hold the shells closed, and alocking-lever carried by the main slide to hold said latch on a shoulderprovided with an operating-connection.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I afliX my signaturein presence of two witnesses. 7

CHARLES LARDNER.

\Vitnesses: 1 Y

J OE FETTERs, OrIs H. MoCoY.

